


Cuts and Scratches

by gallifreyanlibertea



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M, Tsunotalia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-10-17 01:40:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10583754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gallifreyanlibertea/pseuds/gallifreyanlibertea
Summary: A series of ficlets centered around the developing relationship of Arthur and Alfred, two men living in a world where people have horns.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Slight NSFW in the beginning.

Arthur was hot.

Alfred decided this as Arthur pulled away from their kiss to nibble at his lower lip, tongue dragging along Alfred’s as their breathy moans mingled in the dim bedroom.

They’d been at it for what seemed like hours.

He’d met the guy through a friend. Sure, back then, in that sweater vest and slacks pairing, he didn’t seem so frisky. Just a run of the mill, slightly cute guy.

“I like your accent.” Was the first thing Alfred had said to him. He wasn’t lying. His voice had something of a soothing lilt, reminiscent of a documentary narrator.

“I like yours too.” Was Arthur’s reply, “I’ve always had a thing for Southern accents.”

A flirty dinner had turned to decisions made under the slight influence of wine and Arthur had taken Alfred home, throwing him onto his bed to climb on Alfred’s lap predatorily. It was funny seeing as Alfred was, in fact, the predator in their relationship, what with his horns and Arthur’s… antlers. 

But he let that slide, throwing his head back as Arthur rolled his hips down against him.

Clack.

“Aw, fuck.”

Arthur clamped his hand over his mouth to stifle a snort, watching as Alfred turned his head this way and that in fruitless attempts to untangle the curve of his horn from where it had locked into the grill of Arthur’s bed.

“You could help me, yanno.” He grumbled as he felt Arthur’s body shake from silent laughter.

Hands fisted the fabric of his shirt and the weight on Alfred’s lap was gone. Arthur balanced on his knees, hovering over to card his hands through Alfred’s hair and give the base of his horns a gentle tug. Alfred heard a rattle and he was finally free. Pink-faced, he turned to bury his face and plant open-mouthed kisses onto Arthur’s neck to avoid the poking fun that he hoped wouldn’t follow.

Arthur was kind to him that day.

Slender fingers tilted Alfred’s chin up and their lips met again. Arthur’s arms moved to rope around Alfred’s neck, bringing him closer, deeper into their heated kiss as Arthur’s coral, flushed lips parted to make way for a tongue.

Fuck… Alfred was getting red now. It had been a long time since he went this far- those lips were so honey sweet on his, and every kiss burned him, pooling pleasure into his abdomen as Arthur’s touch lit his body aflame. He let his fingers creep under the fabric of Arthur’s shirt, tugging at it until Arthur’s torso was free to taste, and then Arthur stopped.

“Well, I can’t be the only one undressing, now can I?”

Alfred’s blank expression turned almost bashful as Arthur tugged at his shirt, bringing it over Alfred’s head. He wanted it, he really did, but- it felt too soon. They’d been dating for a month almost, and he knew Arthur had been aching for it for a while now. A month was a long time, and if Alfred had left Arthur hanging for so long, he might think there was something wrong with him. Alfred couldn’t have that- He couldn’t bear sleeping without expecting a “good night” text, or seeing green eyes light up when Alfred surprised him with little trinkets at work…

He wanted it, yes. Alfred just wasn’t sure if it was right.

“Al, I think it’s stuck,” Arthur grunted, tugging impatiently at the fabric of Alfred’s shirt.

Rip.

Oh dear.

He could feel tattered fabric pooling around his horns, and an audible gasp tore through the air on Arthur’s part. Alfred’s vision consisted of the suffocating blue fabric of his shirt, and he rolled his shoulders, which despite only having been strained for seconds already began to ache as they laid limp and trapped in the arm holes.

“… Arthur, hurry up-”

“I’m trying!”

Another ferocious tug and Alfred lurched forward, wincing as another noise resulted as the tip of his horn bore yet another hole.

He was completely, and utterly stuck.

And instead of helping him, like Arthur claimed he was doing, Alfred knew he was laughing. He could feel Arthur’s body shake against him, little gasps of air he’d suck in only when he was laughing so hard it was inaudible.

He tried to imagine what Arthur looked like right now. A bare-chested, red-faced, absolute idiot.

“Don’t just laugh at me, do something!” Alfred pressed. He heard Arthur take deep calming breaths before leaning to lie against Alfred’s trapped, squirming body with a humored sigh.

“Hurry!”

Alfred chewed his inner cheek in anticipation as Arthur seemed to lie perfectly still on his lap.

Then he felt it.

Hands moved over his abs, fingers lazily tracing each defined muscle as Arthur’s hot breath fanned through the fabric onto Alfred’s cheek.

“Arthur, this isn’t the time to be fondling my-” Lips parted in a gasp as a warm kiss was placed in the middle of his chest, cool fingers running a slow circle around his areolas before coming to pinch them. Alfred yelped, squirming as a tongue flattened and teased his nipple, the antlers atop the rogue’s head brushing over Alfred’s chin through the fabric of his shirt.

He bit back a moan, “Fu- Arthur, wh-”

“I think we can have some fun like this, don’t you?”

That was the first time Alfred thanked his horns for inconveniencing him.

* * *

“Alfred!”

Alfred woke with a snort, a string of incomprehensible noises dribbling from his lips as his eyes blinked rapidly, squinting to focus on the blur before him.

There was a light on.

With a slight groan, he rolled over to the nightstand, flinching as his horns clacked uselessly against the grill of the headboard. His glasses were retrieved, and he pushed them clumsily atop his nose to find the bed empty beside him.

“Alfred get over here!”

The accented voice screeching for him drew a sigh out of his lips. It had to be something petty. Arthur tended not to be scared by the scary things and terrified by the things that could easily be fixed.

It was way too late and he could feel his eyes drooping, but Arthur wasn’t going to let Alfred sleep peacefully until whatever had startled him was taken care of. That fact was made evident by the many similar nights they’d shared ever since Alfred moved in.

“Yeah, babe?” He could see the light in the bathroom through the open bedroom door. Arthur was probably fawning over his appearance again- He’d gone there to clean himself up after their… romp in the sheets, and Alfred had expected Arthur back in minutes. The whole ordeal had tired him out, and there was nothing better than to nod off with his boyfriend pulled to his chest.

Another shriek tore Alfred off his bed and sent him scrambling towards the bathroom, “I’m comin’, I’m comin’!”`

“Look at them. Don’t you see it!?” Arthur said, hands fondling the length of his antlers. His green eyes were wide with alarm as he turned to Alfred, pointing at his head, “Look!”

Alfred couldn’t see a thing, “I- uh, I don’t see nothin’ wrong.”  

Arthur turned pink, letting his hands fall to his sides, “They’ve turned yellow, Alfred.”

Oh.

Now he could see it.

The usually sparkling antlers had yellowed a bit- which was perfectly normal, but of course, Arthur would be reduced to tears about it. Appearance meant everything to him. Looking prim and proper, making the best impression… apparently, that wasn’t possible with healthily yellowed antlers.

“I’m getting them whitened first thing tomorrow, that’s final.” Arthur declared, facing the mirror with hands on his hips.

“Ugh, Artie, you don’t have to do that, you can barely see it!” Alfred complained, rubbing the bridge of his nose with a sigh. Leave it to Arthur to pick the most expensive option. Antler-whitening had become something of a routine on Arthur’s part and Alfred didn’t want the habit to stick. “You can’t even see ‘em, babe, they’re tiny.”

Oops.

Arthur’s eyes were already swimming with hurt. That was the last thing you’d tell someone like him. Everyone wanted large horns, but not everyone was blessed with them like Alfred was. The blue-eyed man had tall, curved, desirable structures that were gracefully white to the tip. He took good care in maintaining them, and they often earned him looks when he walked hand-in-hand with Arthur down the street. They were majestic, to say the least, and Arthur, like every other person, was equally intimidated by them.

So to sum it up: dick move.

“Wait, no, that’s not what I-”

Arthur slammed the door shut in his face and Alfred could hear the lock click. Shit.

“Arthur- open the door.”

There was no response.

“Baby-”

“Go away.”

Alfred sighed, forcing the growl building up his throat back down to his chest. The last thing Alfred needed was to get aggressive. Arthur had a thing for drama, and as soon as Alfred made one wrong move, a solid kick would land him right on the streets, no mercy.

(They’d be mercy later, but knowing Arthur, he’d be too stubborn to invite Alfred back in.)

A frustrated sigh. Alfred was fully awake now, eyes blinking wide as he eyed the locked bathroom door, “I’m going back to sleep then, do what you want.”

It was too early for this, he decided. The sun wasn’t up, and he shouldn’t have been either, but there he was, up early because his boyfriend had called for him. Alfred bit back the boiling exasperation welling up inside him, telling himself anything he said would make it worse. He learned to be quiet when Arthur got like this. Wait for him to cool down and come back outside, then Alfred would take him into his arms and kiss those tiny horns on each little peak. That would always do the trick-

But a pathetic whimper from the other side of the door with a mumbled “fine”, broke the last thread of patience he had inside him.

“Stop fuckin’ guilt trippin’ me, we’re not three years old.”

The door swung open at that to reveal a red-faced Arthur, “Well, I’m sorry I’m such a bother, just go back to sleep.”

Alfred found himself clenching his jaw, “You’re making this a big deal, babe, just come back to bed with me.”

A stubborn cross of his arms, “No.”

“You’ll have to anyways,” Alfred muttered dismissively, words taking on a growl as his lip curled to bare his teeth. “It’s kinda the only bed in the house.”

Knowing Arthur, it probably wasn’t the best thing to say in response. Green eyes narrowed with fiery defiance and the bathroom light was snapped off, door slamming shut with a force that rattled the floor as Arthur stormed into their living room. Alfred followed behind with a groan, watching defeatedly as the silhouette of his boyfriend swung over to plop onto the couch, snuggling into the cushions in a feeble attempt to escape the chilly air.

“Fine, stay that way.”

He wouldn’t accept a blanket even if Alfred got on his knees to offer it.

Perhaps that was why Alfred stormed into their bedroom, letting his own door slam shut with a force that rivaled Arthur’s. Despite the fact that they’d been together for what seemed like ages, Alfred still found himself wanting to smother Arthur on several occasions.

This was one of them.

The bed felt colder without his lover beside him, but that was a given. Alfred bit back a noise- he had no idea what it might’ve sounded like if he’d let it tumble from his lips, but he decided he was better off not knowing. Instead, he buried his face into the pillow beneath him, horns clacking against the bedposts as he shuffled around to dig under the covers, curling up to preserve any warmth left in him.

His arm ached to shoot out to his side, to bring the warm body that slept beside him close, but he flinched, clutching it back to his chest and wondering if Arthur was doing the same.

There were no words when he found himself awake again only a few hours later. The sun had begun to shine a pale, orange light through the window and Alfred huffed an exhale, swinging his feet over the side of the bed to pad to the bathroom, brushing his teeth lamely as his ears sought out any noise he could hear from Arthur’s part.

No soft snoring- maybe shuffling, clanking, Arthur was awake.

Then he was beside him as Alfred stepped out into the living room, gripping a steaming cup of coffee too dark for Alfred’s taste that morning.

It was a peace offering, Alfred decided. He accepted it, and with a sip, he smiled- an action Arthur returned sheepishly before prying Alfred’s arms apart to cling to his chest.

The tip of his antler scraped across his cheek sharp enough to leave a dull throb in its wake, but Alfred found that he didn’t mind it this time.

* * *

“Mm babe, move over, you’re poking me.”

Alfred shifted against the couch he was presently laying on, the weight on his chest nuzzling further into his neck. They’d been lying there for a while now in silence, Arthur’s ear pressed against Alfred’s chest, listening intently to the calm, methodical beat of his heart…

His boyfriend really liked doing that.

It made him feel more integrated, Arthur would say. Sometimes all Alfred would see of him for hours would be that mop of wild blond hair framing the face that would be buried in the fabric of Alfred’s shirt. He was like a personal area for Arthur to sprawl himself over, and usually, he wouldn’t mind, save for the fact that sometimes Arthur forgot about his little predicament.

The pair of rather sharp antlers on the top of his head.

“O- ow!” Alfred hissed as the appendage pierced the skin on his neck, “Baby, one day you’ll cut right through my jugular-”

Arthur’s head whipped up at that, “Hm? Ah! I’m sorry, love!”

“Ow!”

The tip of the antler had scraped up to his chin, not enough to draw rivers of blood so Alfred blotted the trickles away with his sleeve.

Arthur clamped his hands over his mouth to stifle a gasp, “Alfred! Are you alright-”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Alfred assured in response, wincing a bit as Arthur’s finger traced over the freshly made mark. It was quite the norm these days so he was used to it, and he tried to tell Arthur just that but he’d already went skittering into the bathroom to fetch the well-worn first aid kit.

This wasn’t Alfred’s first scrape.

The area near his neck was peppered with old, fading scars from those pointy little beasties. Every man with antlers wanted them to stand tall and intricate, and though his little boyfriend’s adornments were rather, er- fun-sized, Arthur still managed to be proud of them. He was too vain to file them down.

So Alfred simply smiled to himself as Arthur flocked to him with a tube of antiseptic cream- their third that month, that too half-finished.

“Artie, it’s fine, I swear-” Alfred tried to reason but his boyfriend would have none of it. Lips pulled into a pout, Arthur unscrewed the lid and smeared the paste on his fingertips, pressing a light kiss onto the now dry wound before rubbing circles into it with the stinging cream.

Ignoring Alfred’s pained hisses, Arthur continued massaging the skin, “Quit being a baby, Alfred, sit still-”

As soon as the cut was covered, Alfred irritatedly flicked the tube out of Arthur’s hand, crossing his arms with mock anger.

A patronizing quirk in Arthur’s lip followed, “I’m sorry, love, you know how I feel about hurting you.”

“Yeah…” Alfred let his response trail off, roping his arms around his lover’s waist and tilting his head up invitingly, allowing himself to be silenced by Arthur’s lips on his.

* * *

Arthur had perked up at the word ‘plugs’, to which Alfred rolled his eyes and displayed the packet in his hand with a flourish.

“They’re wax plugs. For your antlers, you perv.”

Arthur scoffed, sitting up in bed with eyes sporting their signature glare. If it weren’t for Alfred’s large shirt draped over Arthur’s shoulders, and the notoriously cute bedhead, Alfred would’ve been intimidated.

“And they’re so important you got up early in the morning to go fetch some?”

Alfred hadn’t expected Arthur to be awake when he got back. Of course, he mourned the loss of a perfectly good couple of minutes to watch Arthur sleep. Glossy lips parted for soft snores…

But the wellbeing of his chest mattered a bit more, it seemed.

It’s not like he didn’t like the scars. They were like Arthur’s way of unknowingly marking his territory- faded scrapes and scratches from those sharp little antlers whenever he nuzzled lovingly into Alfred’s embrace. It couldn’t possibly have been healthy for him, and on the other hand, the feel of antiseptic cream on his skin annoyed him to no end.

Which lead to this. A pair of wax plugs to keep Alfred safe from the tips of those ferocious beasts. He’d seen it advertised somewhere, and it seemed pretty alright to his tortured self, so he’d bought it on the basis that Arthur would actually agree to wear them.

They did look a little… weird.

“I’m never putting those on.” Arthur sniffed, crossing his arms, “Look at them, Alfred, they look ridiculous, I’d feel like a domesticated beast.”

Alfred sighed, “Babe, if you’re gonna keep sharpening them-”

“It’s my wish what I do with them!”

“- then please try an’ put these on for me?”

Puppy dog eyes were normally fool-proof, but Arthur seemed particularly stubborn that morning. Lip pushed out in a pout of his own, Arthur sharply averted his eyes.

“I’m not putting on those degrading wax stoppers.”

Alfred stared down at the packet with a frown playing on his lips. Sure, they were a little silly, but if Arthur knew the mental preparation Alfred underwent before agreeing to cuddle him. Oh, the fear of those deadly antlers. If he knew, perhaps he would consider it.

Alfred bit back a smile, setting the packet down against the nightstand before climbing onto the bed ominously, rolling his shoulders back like a predator sizing up prey, “Come on, not even for me?”

Arthur tensed, scooting back with a suspicious look in his eyes, “Alfred, no…”

Yes. A lunge, a tackle, and Arthur was pinned to the bed with a menacing Alfred hovering over him, straddling his waist leaving him practically immobile.

“Alfred, don’t.”

He did.

Fingers crept under the hem of Arthur’s shirt and tugged up to reveal a creamy expanse of unmarked skin. Arthur threw his head back and let loose a choked sob-

Before dissolving into laughter as Alfred’s fingers began their furious assault on his skin.

Arthur hated being tickled.

Alfred, however, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to watch his lover writhe beneath him with eyes dampened with pure bouts of laughter. Just watching him brought a few to his own lips as well and Arthur’s hands flew to tear Alfred away, “Get off me, you oaf!”

A kiss to Arthur’s neck had him melting into Alfred’s arms, and Alfred took the opportunity to just hold him, peppering his face with light kisses and nuzzles until Arthur gave in with a groan and looped his arms around Alfred’s shoulders.

“I hate you.”

Taking this as defeat, Alfred reached over the squirming body beneath him to tear away at the packet, wrestling a handful of wax plugs free to sink into the treacherously sharp antlers.

He pulled away to survey his work. A mildly annoyed Arthur, with green eyes watery from the bouts of laughter Alfred had coaxed out of him earlier.

And more importantly, antlers made stab-proof.

“Are you satisfied?” Arthur quipped, to which his boyfriend drawled his response with a wink.

“Not yet.”

He was rewarded with a smack. Alfred chuckled and Arthur sank back into the mattress with a tired sigh, curling onto his side and letting his eyes flutter back shut. It was rather early in the morning, and Alfred wasn’t complaining either- he watched as Arthur tugged expectantly at his arm, beckoning him closer to lay his soft blonde hair into his lap.

Fingers languidly brushing and tangling into the mop, he found himself smiling as Arthur drifted away with a content sigh, lashes casting shadows on his cheekbones.

And Alfred’s thumb rubbed lightly at the closest spike in the antler that nuzzled into him.

A small, forgiving smile played on Arthur’s lips before they parted for a soft breath. Alfred mirrored the smile, leaning back and thanking the gods for the wax plugs that let Alfred fall asleep as well, knowing he’d wake up the next day and not bleed out in his sleep from a possible antler buried deep into his gut.

* * *

Arthur clenched his fists, and Alfred watched as his knuckles went white.

“Arthur, you okay?”

“I hate them.” Came the fiery response. Alfred glanced to where Arthur’s glare led, a group of girls fanning themselves and giggling demurely in his direction. Different shades of perfect hair framed their heart-shaped faces and their horns stood curvy and polished atop their heads, glinting in the sun.

His cheeks glowed red, “Aww, Arthur, they’re just appreciatin’ me.”

“A little too much,” Arthur said, a ferocious bite to his tone. Alfred glanced down to find Arthur glaring holes into the ground, a light frown playing on his lips. Cheeks were flushed red for reasons unknown to Alfred- was it the sun beating down on them? The burning sand under their bare feet…  or perhaps that Arthur was raging jealous to the point of his blood rushing to his cheeks?

The hand that was previously clenched to his side reached out for Alfred’s and Alfred bit back a smile. Arthur was never one for public displays of affection, but when it came to others giving Alfred a second glance, like they always did, Arthur went all out.

“Take off your shirt.”

Alfred’s eyebrows shot up, “Uh, Arthur, let’s just get farther down near the water first-”

Arthur shot him a glare and Alfred pulled his shirt over his head, the fabric being promptly snatched away from his hands as Arthur shoved it into their beach bag.

The girls began to murmur amongst themselves now, and it seemed to have the opposite effect to what Arthur had hoped for. They began to enjoy the view presented to them. A muscular, tanned torso, albeit scarred with faded cuts from Arthur’s overenthusiastic moments.

Arthur fumed at that, body shifting to almost block Alfred from their line of sight. It was cute enough to smirk at.

“There, happy? Now let’s go get some sunscreen on you, you’ll burn to crisp.”

Arthur crossed his arms over his bare, flushed chest. Alfred had decided that a beach-date was well overdue for them, and there they were. Alfred soaking up a tan, and Arthur freckling like no tomorrow. He’d gotten his antlers bleached before their trip, naturally, his reason being that he couldn’t possibly stand next to someone like Alfred, he was too inadequate! Alfred would’ve loved to prove him wrong and kiss every beautiful freckle on his body, but that would result in a hit and an embarrassed Arthur crawling to hide himself underneath a towel.  

Well, he didn’t seem to be too embarrassed now.

Arthur had his hands on his hips, and from where Alfred stood, he could see the red tan lines fading on his skin.

“Artie, let’s go.”

“Put your arm around me.”

Alfred paused, eyebrow shooting up as Arthur repeated his request after a bit of silence, voice softer.

“Go on, do it then.”

Another pause, then a smile. Alfred brought his hand up to cup the side of Arthur’s face, craning down to capture those pouting lips before he was promptly shoved away, an annoyed Arthur glaring up at him.

“If you’re going to kiss me, use the hand with the ring on it.”

Alfred chuckled, diving back in with his engagement ring glinting towards their audience as he caressed Arthur’s face. With a satisfying smack, he pulled away to grope the back of Arthur’s shorts for extra measure, “I think that told them, babe.”

In the end, he got smacked, but he was victorious nevertheless. Alfred watched as Arthur took the hand that was offered to him, and he led his jealous husband down to the beach, where he’d risk another smack by tossing him into the frothing water.  


End file.
